Rock Bottom
by Linhiful
Summary: They would beat him within every inch of his life, strip him down to nothing, grab his hair and force him to look at what he's become. Show him bags underneath of his eyes from the little sleep he's gotten, plague by nightmares of Amon and losing his bending. Or even worse, the dreams of what the water used to feel like in his hands.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own LOK

A/N: And here is the start of my first multichaptered Tahnorra story. This is going to be fairly dark, because of the nature of the story, which is Tahno hitting rock bottom after Amon took away his bending.

I'm not 100% sure where this story will go. It depends on how the finale goes (if Tahno ever shows up ;_;) it might be more or less canon. Everything is canon up until Tahno loses his bending though.

* * *

The full moon was low, looming by the horizon, still just beginning its rise into the sky. It was no longer snowing, warming up even, but she could still feel the chill in the air.

She found him waist deep in the water, moving his arms in tune with the waves. For a split second, it was as if he was moving it with his own will, his hand guiding it along. Nothing on his face showed that the freezing water was affecting him, almost completely blank, brows lightly furrowed in his concentration.

Korra has never seen anyone move the same way Tahno did. He was never still, always right on top of everything and pushing forward no matter what. He didn't stay stationary, weaving through whatever was being thrown at him. Even without his bending, he moved the same way, never staying in one place long enough for anyone to catch him.

His chest was bare, showing his strong muscles toned with all the years of training and fighting. He closed his eyes, never once stopping his movements, bringing his entire body into it now. It was slow, steady, twirling around the water, not guiding it, but being guided by it.

His disheveled hair blocked the side of his face, sticking to his skin as it dripped down his body. The water almost flinging off of him as he moved, joining the ripples that spread out around him.

He truly was a pretty boy.

"Well, well, well," Tahno didn't stop moving even as he spoke, spinning himself in the water and running his hands through the surface. "Didn't take you for a peeper, _Uh-vatar._" He flashed her a grin, stopping to face her, trailing his hands into the water, dipping his it in deeper and bringing it up again. As if to remind himself that it was still there.

Korra pouted at him angrily and padded into the water, not stopping until she was standing face to face with him. "Not really much to peep at," she said, raking her eyes up and down his chest. It was dark, but she could still see the tight outlines of his muscles, flexing whenever he shifted. She was sure that he was doing that on purpose when he saw exactly where her eyes were lingered. A shiver ran through her, and it wasn't from the cold. "Ever heard of the sun?"

Tahno just chuckled, stepping closer to her, the water rippling around them. "Oh?" he asked coyly, droplets of water trailing down from his wet hair and dripping onto her. It trailed down her cheek, the cold water feeling like an intimate caress against her skin. "What bring you out here then?" His eyebrows quipped, his eyes trailing down her body. "Alone, in the dead of night. There are dangerous people roaming the streets, y'know." He leered at her, and she was sure that if there was anyone that she was supposes to hide from, it was probably him.

He trailed a hand down her arm, his lips never straying from his infuriating smirk. It sent shivers down her spine, but she tried to show that it had absolutely no effect on her. So she snatched it away, holding it up and crushing it in her hand. His still face didn't change from his smug smirk. "I can take care of myself." He took a step back and held his hands up in surrender, but the look on his face suggested anything but.

"Still didn't answer my question, _Uh-vatar_."

"I don't think it's any of your business," she said, crossing her arms with another pout. Tahno shrugged his shoulders, and with his ever present smirk, shook his head, spraying water everywhere.

"You were staring pretty hard there," he said stepping close to her again. "You know, if you still wanted those private lessons," he leaned in closer, his voice dropping down an octave in her ear, "I still have some things I could teach you."

Korra glared at him in disgust, pushing him away. She couldn't help but notice the cold skin underneath her fingertips or the slight shiver that ran through his body. Without thinking, she raised her hand, bending the water off of him, swirling around the air. He stared at it floating in front of him before Korra realized what she was doing and dropped it, droplets of water splashing against their legs as it fell.

"I can feel it, y'know," he said, lifting his hand up and watching as the water trickle through his fingers. "During the full moon. The connection is stronger." He could feel his body crying out for the water, but even as he tried to skim the surface, try to submerge himself into it, it wasn't enough. It just slid right off of his skin and landed right back underneath him. It was almost worse on these nights because he could feel the water reaching out for him, nudging him, prodding him to turn it's way, but not matter how many times he spun around in circles, he still couldn't find it.

Korra reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Tahno, I'm really so—"

"You've already said that," he said, moving past her, stopping right at the edge of the water, not willing to take that last step out.

She followed him, their footsteps sloshing the water. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, instead staring at his muscular back as he rolled back his shoulders and jerked to his head to the side, and even Korra could hear it crack from where she stood.

"I told ya there were dangerous people roaming these streets," he said, and she only had enough time to furrow her eyes before his hand shot out, pushing her. Caught by surprise, she fell back into the water, only just feeling the heat released above her. She could see the blurred out blobs of red from the fire before it dissipated.

Korra jumped up, hands grasping the water and throwing it into the direction of where the fire came. A piece of the earth came was hurled through the air, but Tahno leaped over it, using it as a stepping stone before he smashed his knee into the firebender's face.

He used the force as leverage, swinging his other leg around to deliver a kick that sent the bender's body barreling into the water. Korra jumped into action, intercepting him before he could attack Tahno again, redirecting the fire he tried to send his way. They fought, fire with fire, Korra enhancing her kicks and punches with flames as they danced around each other.

Tahno left Korra to face the earthbender, running onto the shore, ducking under more chunks of rocks that were thrown his way. He jumped over one, landing right in front of the bender before he knew what was happened. The ex-bender swung his arm around, catching him in his face, watching with a twisted smirk when he fell back.

The bender wouldn't be deterred, though, arms shooting back behind him, catching himself before he planted into the ground, landing with a resounding force that moved the Earth towards Tahno.

The former Wolfbat wasn't expecting this, desperately trying to stand on shaking ground, but the bender used it to his advantage, throwing chucks of Earth his way. One hit Tahno square in the chest, throwing him back onto the ground. He grunted, rubbing a hand on the bruise that he was sure was going to form.

He was only allowed a few moments of rest, though, before more was throw his way. Tahno was able to barely roll out to the side, not even given enough time to glance at the rocks that smashed into the place he just laid.

He wasn't able to block them all, barreling into his body whenever they had the chance. When they stopped, he tried to prop himself up, but the pain in his chest grew, wheezing out when it became difficult to breath. The Earthbender stepped up to him when he saw that Tahno could barely move.

"Oh look at how the mighty Wolfbat has fallen," he sneered. He grabbed Tahno's hair and watched with sick satisfaction when he grunted in pain. "How does it feel?" he asked, tugging on his hair even harder. "To be completely helpless as someone beats you down?"

Tahno smirked, wincing when the grip tightening in his hair. "How does it feel to be a lesser man?" he asked instead, fighting through the pain that ran rampant throughout his body. "Because it definitely felt good to have _your_ girlfriend screaming out my name in a way that you're never going to hear."

The bender growled in anger, sending a harsh punch to Tahno's face, laughing when his head banged against the ground. Blood trickled from his mouth and forehead, but the smirk never left the ex-bender's face. "Even without my bending," he wheezed out with a chuckle, "she still warms up my bed."

"Fuck you," he shouted, grabbing Tahno by the hair and smashing his face into the ground. "What good are you now? Huh?" He rubbed his face into the ground, pulling it back and smirking at the blood left behind. "You have nothing. No bending. No respect. Nothing. **You** are nothing."

Tahno's infuriating smirk still never left his lips, even as blood flooded his face. He licked his teeth, pursing his lips at the metallic taste of blood. He spat it at his face, laughing when the bender jerked back, snarling angrily as he wiped away the blood on his face.

Because begging never helped. He could plead for his life, and they would still do whatever they wanted. They could beat him within every inch of his life, strip him down to nothing, grab his hair and force him to look at what he's become. They could show him the blood and bruises on his skin, given to him from the people he used to beat down. Show him bags underneath of his eyes from the little sleep he's gotten, plague by nightmares of Amon and losing his bending. Or even worse, the dreams of what the water felt like in his hands.

And they'll show him the shit hole he's now forced to live in, broken in countless times by the long line of people who were waiting for him to be on his knees, waiting for this exact chance to show just how hated he was.

"I don't think you understand your position here," the bender said. He jerked his hand back, letting Tahno fall back onto the ground as he lifted his hand, a piece of the earth floating right above it.

Bubbles of laughter spilled out from Tahno's chest, throwing his head back with a bloody sneer. "What?" he hissed, lifting a shaky hand to run through his hair. His voice came out much steadier than he thought it would. "Am I suppose to be afraid of you? Oh, I'm sh-shaking in my boots."

"You should be," he said, slamming his hand down for the rocks to smash into Tahno, but they stopped just before it reached him. He couldn't help the feeling of relief that completely washed over his body when the former Wolfbat stared at the rocks floating right in front of his face.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Korra standing by the edge of the water, squatting down with arms outstretched towards them. "Keep out of this Avatar," the bender said, jerking his head towards her. "This has nothing to do with you."

With a swipe of her hand, the rocks went flying back towards him, but he merely ducked underneath it, ripping out even more of the earth to throw at the Avatar. Korra jumped, running along the trail of rocks that he tried to throw at her. One jumped up, trying to capture her foot, but she crushed it, running head on towards the bender, evading and punching away the rest of the earth that came her way.

With the bender distracted, Tahno grabbed a fist full of debris, throwing it into his face, crawling away without even looking to see if it made contact. A painful shout echoed throughout the area, and Tahno smirked, grabbing hold of one of the up heaved rocks to yank himself up, shakily standing on two feet. Korra used this to attack, throwing a punch that sent fire toward him.

The bender reached out to try to grab another piece of rock, but the flames pushed him back, tossing him onto the ground without a care in the world. Korra ran over to Tahno grabbing hold of his arm to steady him.

"Tahno," she said, "What's going on?" He reached up and wiped the blood off of his face with the back of his hand, spitting the liquid that filled up his mouth onto the ground. He shrugged her off, taking a step forward unsteadily before he collapsed onto the ground.

She knelt down next to him as he looked up at her with half-lidded eyes, a dopey smile that spread across his face. "Seriously, Tahno…" She reached behind her guiding the water to form in her hands and brought it down towards his face.

He let out a moan, leaning his head back as the water began to glow, the warmth tingling against his skin. The blood began to wash away, revealing the dangerously pale—almost blue—skin underneath.

Looking up close, she could finally see the cuts and bruises that littered his body, some she was sure was much older than the fresh wounds that readily bled into her hands. Tahno lulled his hand to the side, leaning against her hand, his eyes drifting closed as he fell unconscious in her arms.

She shook her head, blowing her bangs out of her face, a deep sigh escaping from her chest. Even with her skills, it would take hours to repair the damage dealt to his body. She ran a hand lightly down his chest, feeling each scrape and cut that led to the waistband of his pants, where she was sure even more awaited her.

She brought her fingers to her lips, pinching her fingers together and blew, a sharp whistle cutting through the air. She only had to wait a few moments before she heard Naga bounding through, running straight towards her before coming to a sliding halt. Naga nudged her shoulder with her snout, a please growl escaping her throat when Korra ran a hand through her mane.

"Got another passanger," she said, heaving Tahno up onto her back.

They quietly snuck back into the compound, able to bypass the guards who were only half paying attention to their surrounding this late at night. She laid Tahno across her bed, leaning over his still body. In the light, the damage looked much worse, almost recoloring his pale skin purple.

"What have you gotten yourself into?"


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own LOK

A/N: I'M SO SO SO SO SOOOO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS IN FOREVER. I've put this excuse around in many places, but after the finale, I completely lost all motivation to write for Korra because I was just so annoyed at the end, but I revisited this not too long ago and I was just like smacked in the face with a ton of Tahnorra feels and became motivated again. I promise I won't leave for this long again. I have the next like 8 chapters planned out ready to write out. It's going in a much different direction that I originally planned.

I wasn't going to release this until after I got another chapter done, but it perfectly fit the day four theme for Tahnorra week so I cranked this baby out.

Thank you all so much for the really kind reviews! I promise that I will start updating this regularly.

* * *

Tahno could see red burning through his eyelids, trying to urge him to awaken and take on the day. But instead, he turned to his side, jerking the blanket over his head as he refused to acknowledge that this was his life now.

His body ached, an almost yearning feeling that screamed through his entire limbs, but no matter how much his body tried to fill the void left behind, it couldn't quite grasp what exactly it was that was missing.

Tahno knew it though, couldn't stop replaying the moment that Amon had pressed his thumb against his forehead, couldn't forget the gold eyes that stared at him through the slits of his white mask. That red dot burned into his mind, and in his dreams it bled onto him, dripping in the essence of his waterbending and pooling it under his feet.

He would reach out, cupping it into his hands and attempt to drink it, to swallow it back into his body, but the only thing that it left was the bitter shame that he was drowning in.

A series of knocks was what brought him out of his stupor, his eyes peering out from under the blanket to wearily stare at the door. He didn't move, not even when the knocks became louder and more insistent by the second.

He didn't fully recognize the room he was in, but all week he's been in others just like it. Plain, empty, sterile, with a strong smell of herbs that was suppose to calm him, but the only thing it served to do was increase the pounding that slammed into the walls of his brain.

He only glanced at the woman who walked into the room before shutting his eyes once more. "I'm sorry," she said, and Tahno almost wanted to pull the blanket back over his head like a petulant child. He didn't listen to the rest of her words, only staggered out of bed, almost knocking into her when his legs buckled from underneath him.

He refused to look at her tanned wrinkled face when she grabbed him, holding him up with strength that an old woman shouldn't have. "You're injured," she said, edging him back into the bed and trying to tuck him in like a child, but he just swatted her hands away. "You need to take care of yourself more."

She held out an unshaken hand, guiding the water from the vase sitting beside the bed. Tahno's eyes couldn't help but follow the trail that it made through the air, gliding effortless in a way that he was once able to achieve—in a way that he kept trying to recreate.

It surrounded her hands, creating a bubble that she tried to bring to his countless injuries peaking through the edges of his clothes. His body trembled, wanting desperately to feel the water against his flesh—to feel the warm glow take away the aching that filled him to very bones.

But a flash of red burned behind his eyes—a mask that stared unnerved by anything around him. Tahno slammed his fist into the stand, the vase tipping over shattering onto the floor.

The healer jumped, the water slipping from her hands and splashing onto the floor. It trickled through the cracks of the floorboard, spreading itself into a formless puddle with nothing that could contain it. Tahno watched it reach out for his foot, the tiny droplets desperately trying to inch for the bruised and battered fleshed that rested against the floor.

But he sidestepped it, quickly stepping back, bumping into the wall behind him, his barefoot landed in the shattered shards, piercing the soles of his feet. Tahno didn't even blink an eye, crunching through the hardened clay that tore through his flesh, droplets of blood smearing across the wood.

He stepped away and watched, entranced, as the puddle trickled through the broken up bits, carrying he blood that he had left behind with it. And she saw it, and in a moment a panic, she swiped her hand and the water evaporated, steaming up and dissipating into the air.

But it was still there. Tahno resisted the urge to lift his hand and just feel the warmth of where the water had once been, to pretend that he could still feel the particles in the air. If it had been a week ago, he probably would have been able to.

He leaned forward just so slightly, hoping that the healer didn't notice, and took a deep breath and allowed himself to believe that the water was being consumed by him, traveling deep inside to where no one could ever try to take it away from him again.

Water was once like the air to him, always there, somewhere, and even if he couldn't see it, his entire body still felt it. His entire being was tuned with the element, and now he felt like he was suffocating, like he couldn't breath and the only solution was to submerge himself until he could reclaim it once more.

But he tried that and kept on trying it over and over again if it meant that this feeling would away. His limbs flailed for an escape, sinking further and further in the bottom of the ocean and panicking in a way that he never had before.

His blood was still left on the ground, scattered among the corpse of the vase, droplets that formed too perfect of a circle sometimes.

There was no hesitation when he smashed his foot right back onto those droplets, more wounds, more blood, but smearing it until it was a unrecognizable heap.

The healer came back into the room, Tahno not even noticing that she was gone, bandages in her hands, almost dropping them when she saw just exactly what he had done.

"You need to stop it right now," she said, taking a firm hold of his arm and forcing him to sit back down on the bed. "J—just because it may seem like the end of the world, it won't always be like this, you know. The path you're going down—"

"You don't understand," he muttered under his breath, head lowered, his feet taking a firm hold of the ground, pushing down as hard as he could, blood dripping from the soles of his feet."

"Excuse me?" she asked, kneeling down and taking a hold of his foot, trying but not succeeding in lifting it. She raised her eyes to meet his, and she recognized that look.

It was same look on her husband's face the day he realized that she couldn't heal everything—one that she matched everyday in the mirror since he passed away. It was the same look as the woman who realized that she was never going to hear her child's cry.

It was the same look as one of her longest regulars, hearing the same apology that it pained to give her every time she realized that there were some things that just couldn't be fixed.

He looked her dead in the eye now, the bags under his eyes enhancing the anger and pain that she knew he was feeling. "How would you feel," he asked, "to gain greatness—to feel absolutely on top of the world for just a split second—before everything come crashing down on you."

He took a hold of one of her hands, holding it up to his face and tracing the line of destiny finger moving from the bottom of her middle finger all the way down to her wrist. "I was supposed to do great things. Supposed to change the world."

He trailed it back up again, curving across her palm on the path of another line. Life. "And then it's ripped away from you." He dropped her hand and stared her right in the eyes, and it pained her to see just how much he had give up, but she didn't look away. Couldn't. "Imagine losing the only thing that matters. The one accomplishment in your life. It's like losing a piece of you."

He held up a hand and stared at it, tightening it to a fist and not even flinching as his nails dug into his skin, tearing through until it bled. "Worse than a hand. Worse than a leg. It doesn't cripple you, _but it should. _It doesn't kill you, _but it should._"

Red. Tahno couldn't get away from that color. Red. It was ingrained into him, pumping through his veins and bleeding out from every hole in his body. The pain only a dull ache compared to the emptiness that he was trying to drain out.

"I was made an example. An example. I should have been celebrated, but they laughed, I know they did, when everything was taken away from me. And I sit here knowing that I could have done something different. I could have prevented this."

He slammed his fist into the covers, his blood staining the white sheets, but neither noticed. Not as tears began to fall from his eyes, a sob croaking out of his throat.

"I'd rather die than live like this. But I can't because no matter how much it hurts, not matter how _easy_ it would be, my body still fights to live. It fights to regain what I lost but _I can't_. It's right there, I can see it, I can touch it, but I can't feel it. Not anymore. Not like how I used to."

And she tried to imagine a life like that. What she would do if she couldn't heal. How many lives would have been lost, how many tears that would have been shed? Much more than those that she has lost. Much more than was acceptable.

He drop his head in resignation, tears dripping down, snot bubbling out from his nose. He cradled his head in his hands, not even realizing or caring that he was smearing his blood onto his cheeks.

She reached out and grasped his ankle, bringing a towel to wipe away the torn flesh, pulling out the broken bits that clung onto his sole. Neither said another word.

When Tahno opened his eyes, he was in a room he didn't recognize. He stared into his hand, devoid of any blood or wounds, and his body was lacking the ache that he had become accustomed to.

But this was something he was used to, waking up in a random room—sometimes not even a room—raking his mind for what happened the night before, struggling to remember the name of a girl that he was sure he would never see again.

It was different this time, because instead of grasping for a face, he remembered bright blue eyes and soft fur beneath his fingertips. He remembered the water, that he could _feel _it again even if he couldn't quite grasp it. It was much more than he could hope for after that day.

And he remembered Korra.

He stepped out of bed, his body moving much easier than it has in a while, no bruises that ached, no cuts that stung with every movement that he made. He didn't care that he his chest was exposed, his shirt nowhere in sight.

He glanced out of the window, republic city looming just across the bay, and Tahno stifled a grin when he imagined Korra heaving him up on her own—he shuddered to think that the fur he remember was Naga—and lugged him back to Air Temple Island.

Most would have left him unconscious, lying wherever he had passed out. Many, in fact, already have.

He wasn't alone when he stepped out of the room, an Air Acolyte giving him an incredulous look before shuffling off without a word. Tahno watch her walked off with a smirk, crossing his arms across his bare chest and following her to where he assumed would be the outside.

She would look back at him every now and then, giving him a glare as he would just smirk at her, sometimes even giving a small wave. He walked leisurely as she hurried along, not too concerned about losing her down the long hallway.

It didn't take too long to make it outside, the sun just recently risen up from behind the horizon, and he could just barely make out Korra's figure sitting up on the veranda. He gave one last wave to the Acolyte, who just gave him another glare in return, before stuffing his hands into his pockets and making his way up the hill.

Korra was sitting cross legged facing the ocean, but she couldn't keep still, at least one part of her body always fidgeting. Her hands moved, slipping from their position, even reaching back to give her bottom a little scratch before attempting to keep still again.

He stifled a laugh as her dark skin contrasted with the orange temple robes, the sleeves pushed back to expose her toned arms in a way that he was sure the Acolyte didn't appreciate.

Tahno didn't even try to hide his presence, walking forward and leaning down to whisper into her ear. "Please don't tell me you plan on shaving your head next," he said. Korra jumped, her legs almost numb from being in the same position for so long and fell over with a grunt.

She rubbed the side of her head, and pushed herself back up and glared at him. "Couldn't you put a shirt back on?"

He shrugged and crossed his arms, smirking when he saw her eyes trail across his chest. "Didn't have anything to put on." Korra rolled her eyes and tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn't allow her too, falling over again.

Tahno laughed and plopped himself onto the ground next to her, crossing his legs and easily sitting in the position she once was in. "You need to clear your mind. The point of meditation is to _not_ think."

"I expected you to be the _last _person to go all Tenzin on me," Korra pouted, rubbing her thighs before joining him. "Didn't take you for a meditation type of person."

"I meditate before every match," he said, taking deep breaths and allowing his body to relax. "Help me keep focus."

He could feel the sun against his face, warming his skin. The wind blew against the tree tops, the leaves rustling in the distance. He could hear Korra beside him, still shifting, still _not quite_ understanding.

But he released it, just allowing himself to feel and hear and just be. As thoughts of Amon and his bending tried to pry into his brain, try to prod at the bruises that Tahno knew would never really hear, he just let them go. But the sun burned through his eyelids, not quite darkness but red that shone through his eyelids.

Tahno wasn't sure if he could ever get away from that color.


End file.
